


The Four Seasons: A School Play

by cruelest_month



Series: Kid Loki [10]
Category: Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Humor, Kid Fic, Kid Loki, M/M, Nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-21
Updated: 2012-08-22
Packaged: 2017-11-12 14:45:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/492331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruelest_month/pseuds/cruelest_month
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki gets a part in a school play written and directed by Scott Summers. He's a bit concerned about getting cast as the tree, but his parents and brother provide plenty of encouragement before and after his debut (Loki is 7 years old).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Before the Play: Loki's POV

“A school play?” Uncle Tony asked as they walked out to the car. It was Thursday, which was the day Loki usually spent with Thor, but his brother was off world and Tony had been available. “How’s that going to work? Are you doing a one man version of _The Pirates of Penzance_?”

“No. Why would I?”

“Wouldn’t you have to? You don’t have any classmates.”

“I have classmates,” Loki insisted. “Sort of. There’s Meggan, Julio, Kitty, Gav, and Rachel. They’re a little older.”

“I see. So what kind of play is it?”

“A play about the four seasons.”

“Called?”

“The Four Seasons.”

“Nothing like thinking directly inside of the box.”

Loki laughed.

“Who came up with this gem?”

“Mr. Scott.”

“Ah. Well. What season are you, kiddo?”

“I’m not a season. I’m a tree.”

“A tree? He made you the tree? What a dil— Oh hey, Scott.” Tony waved awkwardly as Scott joined them. “We were just talking about that clever play you came up with. You know, the one with the original title and great parts for all the kids whose parents and relatives pay for your special ruby eyewear.”

Scott handed Loki his lunchbox. “I figured you might want this.”

“Thank you,” Loki said. “Sorry.” He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for. Possibly leaving for his stuff behind, possibly for Uncle Tony. He noticed that his father had a tendency to apologize in advance whenever Iron Man was around.

“You’re welcome. Are you sure you want this guy to take you home?”

“Yeah, Uncle Tony’s cool.”

Scott seemed unconvinced but he eventually went back into the school.

“You think I’m cool?”

“Sure,” Loki said with a shrug. “Sometimes anyway.”

“Huh. Well, even if Scott’s involved, the play won’t be that bad. You’ll be a great tree no matter what.”

“Thanks.”

-

“You go too fast,” Loki pointed out as Tony pulled into the Avengers’ parking garage.

“Yeah, I do,” Tony agreed. “Don’t tell your dad about that red light, okay?”

“Okay. If you come to my play.”

Tony snorted as he got out of the Jaguar. Then he opened the back door and got Loki out of his booster seat. “Fine. Unless the world’s on fire or something.”

Loki sighed. “Yeah.” He collected his backpack and lunchbox. “Do you think it will be? Because… I really want everyone to go.”

Tony ruffled Loki’s hair as they went into the Avengers Tower. “Hey. If it is, your play will probably get rescheduled anyway because your parents will want to be there for your stage debut no matter what. So cheer up.”

“What if it’s a stupid play though? I mean, it probably is… And I’m just a tree.”

“Someone famous once said that there are no small parts. Only small actors.”

“…What if you’re a small actor with a small part?”

“Er… Well,” Tony rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn. Maybe that’s not how the saying goes.”

Loki crossed his arms after tucking his lunchbox into his backpack. “I’m still waiting for some good advice, Uncle Tony.”

Tony muttered something about needing an adult. “Let’s go see what Uncle Steve’s up to. He used to be in plays, you know. He sold war bonds and sang songs. I bet he’s got great advice.”

-

Uncle Steve’s face lit up at once and his congratulations seemed sincere, but Loki wasn’t sure who to believe. Tony seemed more likely to be honest since he was a pretty bad liar and had a better sense for what was cool. So Loki mumbled a farewell to both of them and went upstairs to do his homework. He had one sheet of math and five sentences to write about a Great Idea. Every week, Charles gave him a different word and each week he had to write about what it meant to him. This week’s word was Nature.

He was in the middle of his second sentence when Thor entered. He hesitated for a minute then abandoned his work to give his brother a hug.

Thor patted his back. “Hello, Loki.”

“Hello.”

“I am sorry I couldn’t fetch you this afternoon. Truth be told, I would have much preferred to collect you from school than attend a peace talk in Svartalfheim.”

Loki shrugged, going back to his desk. “What do you think about nature?”

“Nature?”

“I have to write about what I think about nature.”

“What do you have so far?”

“Trees are awesome even if Uncle Tony thinks that they are lame. Flowers are… And that’s all I have.”

“That last thought seems very incomplete to me.”

Loki smiled.

Thor sat down on the edge of the bed closest to Loki’s desk. “Why do I sense that Uncle Tony’s indifference to plant life has personally offended you in some way? You’re… not in love with a tree, are you?”

“What? No.”

Thor smiled. “Good.”

Loki gave his other brother a look then rolled his eyes. “There’s a school play. I’m the tree.”

“And?”

“And it’s totally lame.”

Thor shook his head. “Nothing that comes from the heart and brings delight to others can be entirely lame. Tony and his heart are not always on very good speaking terms. He probably meant something else entirely, and I am sure he would be very upset to learn he has caused you to feel this way.”

“But what if it’s horrible and no one likes it?”

“Highly unlikely,” Thor said. “Tell me more about this play of yours.”

“It’s about the four seasons.”

“Excellent. Then it is an educational play.”

“It’s called The Four Seasons.”

Thor nodded his approval. “A title that tells you what to expect. I like it.”

“You don’t think it sounds dull and unimaginative?”

“I think it sounds like a very purposeful play with a title that gets straight to the point.”

“...Really?”

“Well, I have not seen this play yet… But it doesn’t sound bad to me. I am sure your parents will be excited. You’ve never been in a play before. Might I attend it as well?”

“You want to?”

It was Thor’s turn to give Loki a look. “I would be honored to.”

Loki stared long and hard at Thor, trying to decide if he was being honest or not. Thor met his gaze with a relaxed smile, used to this sort of skepticism. “You’re a good brother.”

“I try. Now back to your thoughts on nature. It seems that you need to have several more, and I don’t know if that first one is worth keeping for overlong. It seems more like a concern than a thought directly connected to nature.”

“I guess I can start over.”

-

Loki paused his video game when his dad entered the room.

“Greetings, child of mine,” Clint said in what was a really bad impression of Thor. He set several large takeout boxes on the table. “I come bearing pizza with a wide array of hearty meat toppings. And garlic bread. And a salad for your poor misguided father.”

“And a small cheese pizza for me?”

“And a small cheese pizza for you. With some green peppers. And a few black olives, but they’re stealthy like ninjas and you liked them last time.”

“Come on, dad.”

“Vegetables are important.”

Loki sighed. “Whatever.”

“School?”

Loki shrugged. “Tolerable.”

“Homework?”

“Done.”

“Mood?”

“Bad.”

Clint sat down on the couch next to Loki, throwing an arm over the back of it. “Because?”

“I’m in a play at school.”

“Cool. I like plays. When am I seeing it?”

“In two weeks. It’s on a Friday night.”

“All right. Mark in on our calendar and send an e-mail reminder to your father.”

“I did. I wrote the time and everything.”

“Good work.”

Loki watched as his father sorted out the boxes, handing Loki a small box, a water bottle, and then some garlic bread.  
Loki picked at his pizza for a minute and then ate it, nibbling around the vegetables at first before eating them. He did like them. He just didn’t like his dad deciding to put them there for him.

“So what’s got you down about the play?”

“It’s kind of lame.”

“Lame how?”

“Mr. Scott’s directing it.”

“He can be lame sometimes,” Clint admitted. “But that doesn’t mean the play will be.”

“It’s about the four seasons.”

“Always a relevant topic.”

“It’s called The Four Seasons.”

“Might as well be, right?”

Loki hadn’t thought about it that way. “I suppose.”

“Is Scott making you play Summer?”

“No?”

“That’s good. You hate Summer.”

Loki nodded. He hated Summer more than just about anything else.

“What part did you get then?”

“I’m a tree.”

Clint made a face. “He’s made up a fifth season so you all have parts? Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, Tree? What a bozo.”

Loki fought against it but he laughed. “No, dad. I’m the narrator not a season.”

Clint grinned. “Well, that’s good. That’s better than good, actually. Being the narrator means you’re in every scene. You’re basically the star of the play.”

Loki perked up a bit, carefully hiding his relieved expression behind another piece of pizza. “Not if I’m a tree though.”

“Even—No, especially if you’re a tree. I like trees. Everyone likes trees. You got a good part.”

“I did?”

“Of course,” Clint insisted, patting Loki’s shoulder. “You lucked out. You can’t have a play without a narrator.”

“Did someone famous say that?”

“Nope. That’s just common sense.”

“You don’t think that there are no small actors just small parts?”

“I have no idea what that even means,” Clint admitted before eating more pizza. “But it’ll be great. You’ll be great.”

“Thanks, daddy.”

Clint smiled. “You’re welcome. And I can’t wait to see you dressed up like a tree. You’ll be so cute.”

Loki scowled.

“And everyone will have to buy you something. Like a box of chocolates or a toy or a book. Some idiot will get you flowers but, for the most part, you’ll get tons of awesome things for being a terrific tree.”

“…Really?”

“Oh yeah. It’ll be ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous is how no one waits for me before they start eating.”

“Pizza gets cold, Phil. And the kid has to eat so he grows up big and strong.”

Phil sat down to the left of Loki and grabbed the plastic container of salad. “Uh huh. Hand me a fork.”

Clint tossed one to him.

“Sorry, father.”

Phil glanced over at Loki and smiled. “It’s okay. How was school?”

“I’m in a play.”

“You are?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s it about?”

“The four seasons.”

“What’s it called?”

“The Four Seasons.”

“Mr. Scott’s directing, I see,” Phil said in a decidedly wry tone.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t let it get you down, sweetheart. Names aren’t everything. The content of a play is usually what people remember—” Phil blinked as Loki hugged him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just love you and dad very much,” Loki mumbled.

Phil glanced over at Clint.

Clint sighed. “Thor got delayed so Uncle Tony picked Loki up from school. And clearly he doesn't understand how plays work.”

“It’s not that,” Loki insisted. “Uncle Tony was fine and Thor was helpful but… Sometimes I just love you, okay?”

“Fair enough,” Phil said, hugging Loki back.

“If I’m loved, where the hell’s my hug?” Clint asked.

Loki gave him one, and Phil gave Clint a kiss.

“Carry on,” Clint decided.

“What part did you get?” Phil asked.

Loki was back to his pizza and done outwardly appreciating the fact that his parents knew exactly what to say. “I’m a tree.”

“Mr. Scott strikes again.”

“But I’m the narrator. Dad says that’s good.”

“That’s very good,” Phil confirmed. “You can’t have a play without a narrator.”

“Which is exactly what I said,” Clint pointed out.

“It’s true,” Loki agreed. “And… it makes sense. But do you think there are no small parts only small actors?”

Phil shrugged. “I think you’re a small actor with a very good part.”

Loki considered this. “Well… Okay then.”

“Definitely okay. Do we get to see the play?”

“We do on Friday,” Clint helpfully supplied. “Two weeks from now.”

“I can’t wait to see it,” Phil said. He smiled again as he considered his son. “You’ll be such an adorable little tree.”

Loki made a face. “I will not.”

“Will too.”

“Fine, but don’t get me flowers.”

“I’m no fool,” Phil pointed out, moving from salad to pizza. “I’ll get you a book.”


	2. During & After the Play: Clint's POV

Clint wanted to be irritated with Tony and Natasha for volunteering so quickly to stay home from the play, but he figured he’d leave the lecturing to Phil or possibly Steve since the Captain had insisted that he also be allowed to attend along with Thor. The younger Avengers, or more specifically Pietro and Wanda, seemed willing to miss an evening of saving the world to see some kids act out the seasons. But Clint didn’t want too many people showing up for Loki when most of the kids were either orphans or fairly estranged from normal parents who probably wouldn’t stay for very long. He didn’t want Loki to be ashamed or not to feel special, but making other kids feel like crap wasn’t exactly something Clint looked forward to.

Somehow Wade Wilson had wrangled an invite and was sitting in the back munching on popcorn. Logan was down in the front row next to Storm. He was ostensibly there to support the children through this difficult Scott-induced time they were having. Kurt was helping out behind the stage with Scott who was wearing a red beret and holding a large clipboard with whatever bullshit passed for a script. A blond woman that Clint had never seen before was sitting next to Charles. Clint sincerely hoped they were not on a date.

As they sat down on surprisingly swanky chairs in an auditorium that Clint was pretty sure hadn’t been part of the school a week ago, Phil handed him a stack of envelopes.

Clint flipped through them. “What’s this?”

“Presents for Loki’s classmates. I figured we should bring them something too so I asked Xavier about it. He suggested Amazon gift certificates.”

“Huh. Well. Good work, Agent.”

Phil smiled. “That’s all I get?”

“That’s all you get when your father is about four rows back, Thor and Steve are sitting to my left, and kids are about to put on a derpy play in front of me.”

“But later?”

Clint handed him the envelopes. “Later you might get something better. You usually do.”

Phil set them on the seat next to him and pulled out the video camera that had long-since become an honorary member of the Barton-Coulson household. “I have no complaints.”

“Really? You think we’ll want to remember this moment forever?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m looking forward to using it to embarrass him when he’s a teenager.”

“That’s sort of mean, don’t you think?”

“He’ll survive.”

-

The play began with Loki teetering out in his costume. He was a painfully adorable tree. Thor had cheerfully volunteered to make the costume and had done a surprisingly good job of tailoring to Loki’s slight build and dyeing the fabric to imitate the stripes found on Birch bark (Loki had insisted on being a Birch since it was used in divination and therefore a magical tree).

He cleared his throat and pulled out a blank prop scroll, which he pretended to read off of:  
_The seasons come and the seasons go_  
_The summer brings hot and the winter brings snow_  
_The spring brings flowers and the fall brings decay_  
_But why are there four seasons anyway_?  
_Let’s go back to the beginning and try to see_  
_If there are some answers for you and for me_  


Loki moved slowly to the other side of the stage as the other kids came out. The basic storyline was some sort of quest to get the sun and moon to reconcile their differences. And somehow this resulted in four seasons.

Wade and Thor seemed to be having equally difficult times not laughing at the kids stumbled over their rhyming lines. But once the explanation was given, Loki presented some actual facts about each season. This was a basically longer rhyme and pun-filled version of the facts featured in the Prologue, but Loki looked very serious and earnest that it was pretty adorable.

Then all of the kids very reluctantly sang a truly heinous song set to the tune of “The More We Get Together”:  
_We all have four seasons four seasons four seasons_  
_We all have four seasons and that’s all we need_  
_We all have fours seasons for very good reasons_  
_We all have four seasons and that’s all we need_  
_Four seasons four seasons we just have four seasons_  
_We all have four seasons and that’s all we need_

Looking somewhat embarrassed, they all took turns bowing one at a time to very enthusiastic applause that mostly came from Wade, Thor, Steve, and Clint.

“You just had to send him to a special private school,” Kay muttered as he joined them in waiting for Loki to come out.

Scott had given up on his beret and, according to Kurt, had apparently gotten very upset when a magic wand had gone missing during Act One and had yet to recover his good humor. He looked about as Scott-like as ever to Clint, even if his jawline was very tense.

Wade being Wade had sauntered over whistling the Four Seasons song. He held out a sharpie and a his copy of the playbill to Scott and grinned. “Would you mind signing this?”

Scott gave Wade a dark look.

“Oh, it’s not for me. It’s for one of the kids who can’t walk because he has fish fingers for toes and is always sad and could really use cheering up.”

Scott sighed heavily, but he signed anyway.

“Just between us girls? I’m a patron of the fine arts and very supportive of the curriculum you offer at this school. I’d like to sign up for your newsletter and attend any future Scott Summers Productions… But I’m not sure I got the point of the play,” Wade said in loud albeit conspiratorial tone.

“The message was confusing,” he added. “I think got a bit lost what with all the lofty themes and subtext you threw in there. Were you trying to say something about seasons? About how there’s like… what? Four of them?”

“Shut up, Wilson.”

The kids came out and Scott pretended to be happy with how the performance went, but Clint wouldn’t be surprised if he had a long list of critiques that he was dying to share with them.

Loki came out slowly looking hopeful but uncertain. He was clutching his backpack in a forlorn sort of way, but he relaxed slightly when Thor hugged him and told him that he was quite a promising young thespian.

Clint walked over to them and gave Loki a hug. Loki returned it before smiling shyly and signing Wade’s program. “Was it really okay?”

“Awesome,” Wade said. “Best play ever, if you ask me.”

Loki nodded before looking over at his father and grandfather, clearly needing their approval. “I did okay?”

“You did great, kid,” Kay said.

“It was a very solid performance,” Phil added. “You’re very talented, and I’m very proud of you.”

Loki breathed out a sigh of relief. “Okay.”

“I liked it too for what little it’s apparently worth,” Clint grumbled somewhat good-naturedly but also somewhat concerned that his opinion was coming in second place to Phil’s yet again.

Loki laughed and gave him another hug.

-

After handing out gift cards and telling the other kids they did a great job, which seemed to a long way towards to cheer them up, Phil offered to take Loki, Clint, Steve, Thor, and his father for ice cream. Kay agreed to go and also agreed to meet them there. Everyone else went with Clint, Loki, and Phil.

Steve and Thor were able to fit in the back with Loki while Clint and Phil sat up front. It was a somewhat tight fit, which was only kept from being uncomfortable due to the fact that Loki didn’t take up much space even with a car seat. Clint really was hoping they could avoid getting a mini-van for the rest of forever, but it was beginning to seem inevitable as long as they had to schlep half of the team around in addition to their son.

On the way to the ice cream parlor, Steve told Loki about the pretty lousy scripts he’d been given in the past and how much he wished he could have done half a good a job with them as Loki had done with Scott’s.

Clint scowled when his husband seemed about ready to tear up. “My approval should matter a heck of a lot more than it seems to,” he pointed out. “I liked the play too, you know.”

“I know you did, daddy,” Loki called out from the backseat. “You helped me with my lines and everything.”

“I did,” Clint agreed, glancing back at him and smiling. “And you did a great job.”

“Right. But father didn’t hear me practice. That was his first time seeing me perform, and he might have thought it was lame.”

“It wasn’t lame,” Phil insisted. “It was very entertaining.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Clint said with a sigh.

“I wouldn’t take it personally anyway,” Steve advised. “My opinion usually isn’t worth a hill of beans.”

Thor had been humming the stupid Four Seasons song under his breath, but he took a break in order to pat Clint’s shoulder. “Do cheer up, friend Clint. Your good opinion is worth a great deal. On numerous occasions, I have felt it to be worth at least two hills of beans.”

“Three sometimes,” Loki agreed.

“Four on a particularly good day,” Phil added with a smirk.

“You all totally suck.”

-

“Crime was thwarted successfully,” Tony announced upon their return to the tower. “Wade live-tweeted about the play and posted a picture of his playbill to Pintrest. Sounds pretty epic.”

Loki smiled. “Thanks, Uncle Tony.”

“I’d like to see it, and I know Natasha would too. Maybe we can post a video of that Four Seasons song to Youtube.”

“I don’t think so, Uncle Tony.”

“I don’t either,” Steve said, ruffling Loki’s hair. “But you did great in the play. Even if your Uncle’s a twit.” Then he headed towards the kitchen presumably for more ice cream. He hated any and all mentions of social media, and had a pretty large appetite.

Thor gave his brother another hug and whispered something to him before heading after Steve.

“Are you still mad, daddy?” Loki asked as they headed to the elevator. He yawned and leaned against him as they waited for the doors to open.

Clint picked him up and kissed his cheek once the elevator finally arrived. Then he followed Phil into it. “Nah. Not as long as you run your lines with me even when you’re famous.”

“I don’t know if I want to be an actor,” Loki mused, resting his head against Clint’s shoulder.

“No?”

“No. I think I want to be an animal doctor. Or a superhero like you.”

“Oh. Well, feel free.”

“You worry too much,” Phil said once Loki was in his room and telling Ikol about the play. They were in their room across the hall getting ready for bed. They’d decided to give Loki about half an hour of extra time before one of them would shoo the magpie away, read their kid a story, and tuck him in.

“I know, but I want to matter to him when it comes to decisions. You know?”

“I do know.”

“And it’s just hard when he looks over at you and your dad like you’re the only two right people around. I feel like he knows I’m a country bumpkin and doesn’t want to hear what I have to say.”

Phil sighed, pulling on an old and faded T-shirt. “I don’t think that’s it. I think he just knows how you feel and that I need to do a better job.”

“He still values your opinion more.”

“I don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing. If anything it means I’m doing a lousy job of reassuring him. It means I have to make sure he knows I think he’s great at what he does without waiting for me to say so.”

Clint frowned. “The hell you do, Phil. He knows all that.”

“Sometimes I wonder.”

Clint sighed. “Look. You should take your own advice about not worrying so much, and I will too. It’s a good plan. I’d give it about five hills of beans, and that’s a lot of beans.”

“It is,” Phil agreed. “All right. But I’m still going to try to be more forthcoming on a regular basis.”

“Uh huh. You do that.” Clint knew Phil well enough to know there was no talking him out of doing a better job even when he couldn’t possibly do one. “So. Am I reading to our little tree or are you?”

Phil smiled. “I’ll give Ikol the old heave-ho and you can read, but we can both tuck him in. After we earn more brownie points by extolling his acting virtues, of course.”

“Of course. Then we can talk about how great I think you are. And sexy. Assuming the kid actually goes to sleep in a timely fashion.”

“Works for me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, all of Loki's classmates are basically from X-Factor or Exalibur. I couldn't help myself.
> 
> Thank you, fangirlSevera for the beta!


End file.
